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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Last night at 6pm the scores were posted. Around 5:57pm my dad called me. I hadn't told him I would be receiving the results because he comes to visit on Wednesday and I wanted to tell him in person-pass or fail. So he talks my ear off for about 15 minutes and finally says he has to go. I sit down, pull up the website and enter my magic numbers. A few people had told me what the screen would look like if I passed and the second I saw it I screamed!

The funny part is that while I was on the phone with my dad, my boyfriend was a nervous wreck. He was pacing up and down the room practically shaking. What I later came to find out is he sneakily wrote down my codes and a little after 6 entered them into his own computer! Except....he entered them wrong because it said "This name does not appear on the pass list..." So for about 5+ minutes he thought I had failed!!!!!!!!!! He actually got tears in his eyes and walked into the bathroom so I wouldn't notice. I, of course, was so wrapped up in my convo with my dad that I didn't even notice any of this. When I got off the phone and sat down to look at the results, my boyfriend sat across from me and couldn't even look at me because he didn't want to see my initial reaction of failure (because he thought I had failed at that point). When I screamed that I passed, he ran over, looked at the screen and burst into tears! Now, I've known my boyfriend for more than 6 years and I've only seen him cry twice (at funerals for my mom and his grandfather). He's not a crier. He cried MUCH more than I did last night. He literally cried on and off for HOURS. I love him :)

After jumping up and down, screaming and taking a screen shot of the screen saying I passed (and a pic on my phone so I could refer to it all night long when I doubted it was real) I just had to tell my dad. I knew I couldn't keep the news to myself for the next 5 days. My dad had also been a little upset (hence our conversation) about some stuff so I knew it would put him in a wonderful mood.

I called him up, asked if he was sitting down and said "I found out about the bar." His response: "Oh god, what is it..." When I said I passed he was ecstatic! He talked to me for a few minutes and then said "I'll call you back in a little while." I was kind of surprised he wanted to get off the phone so quickly but when he called me back 10 minutes later he told me that he had just sent an email out to all of his company, his personal friends and some of our family (umm embarrassing!!!!!!!) He was reading me the responses from guys he works with, haha. Of course we talked about my mom and how we both had wished she was alive to be here for all this- it was definitely a tear fest.

Anyways, I know this post is a ramble, but my mind is still going 100mph. But yeah, I passed!

Yep, if you follow me on Twitter you may know that on Monday I got a job. It's with a family law firm that I interviewed with about 2 months ago. I loved the firm and I thought they loved me until I never heard back from them. Well, I guess they liked me because I'm officially employed.

They asked me to start immediately so Tuesday was my 1st day. It's been a hectic couple of days and I'm absolutely EXHAUSTED! The office is about 40 minutes away from my house WITHOUT traffic, so it's been an adjustment to say the least.

Luckily the girl I'm taking over for was there these past 3 days to help me out. Unfortunately, she was only in the office from 6am-10am. That meant that on Wed-Thurs I had to get up at 4:45 so I could get ready and drive to the office in order to be there at 6. She was a big help but now that she's gone I'm starting to freak out. Everyone in the office is super friendly, but I hate bothering people with pesky questions.

Anyways, I'm employed and I'm ecstatic about that!

Tomorrow is the day bar results come out so please, please, PLEASE cross your fingers for me. Tomorrow at 6pm I'll know whether or not I'm a lawyer. I'm scared.

Monday, November 15, 2010

So this dip is my obsession. I found the recipe a few years ago and it's become a staple in my house. It's not healthy at all, but it's sooooo delicious. Just a warning though, if you make this for a party everyone will want the recipe. It's just that good.

Pic courtesy of franksredhot.com

32 oz. Shredded Chicken (I just buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery and shred it up)

16 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup Frank's hot sauce (you can adjust the amount based on how spicy you like things. I don't really like spicy food at all, but even I can tolerate 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup Three Cheese Ranch Dressing (Three Cheese Ranch can be hard to find, so you can use regular ranch, but if your grocery has the three cheese definitely get it-it's a lot more delicious)

1 1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (you could really use any type of cheese, but we prefer cheddar)

Mix all ingredients. I put them in one of those disposable aluminum foil pans (pic below) because it's easy clean up and easy to transport if you are taking this to a party.

Place in 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

I've also heard you can place the aluminum pan on a grill until hot and bubbly if you are tailgating!

The Frank's Hot Sauce website has a recipe for this dip but it's a bit different. I've tried both versions and I strongly prefer this recipe.

Recently my boyfriend and I have made another version of this by cutting down on all the proportions. We heat it up in the microwave for about one minute and then slap it on some bread or a tortilla wrap for a quick and easy sandwich.

Friday, November 12, 2010

I'm a little late on this, so you may have heard from practically every other blogger in the world, but Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Holiday Cards for bloggers this year! How awesome is that?! I've used Shutterfly in the past and I've always been wonderfully surprised by everything I've received.

I've always wanted to send out Holiday cards, but since I'm not yet married and really only have a handful of people to send them to, I've never been able to afford them. Well, thanks to Shutterfly this year I'll be sending out cards! Now only if I could pick a favorite....

I have a feeling my boyfriend, dog and cats will be fighting it out for who gets their picture on my cards :)

Let me know which cards you love the most! And, if you've ordered from Shutterfly in the past, share your experience in the comments!

I know, I know, I really need to stop with all these depressing posts. But what can I say, I'm having a bad luck month!

I mentioned that I had another interview today. The interview was for a paralegal position at a firm that has about 12 different southern California locations. Ironically I had sent my resume to this firm a few months ago for an associate position, but never heard back.

To be honest, I was quite surprised I got a call for an interview because most firms that are looking for a paralegal/legal assistant do not consider law school graduates who are waiting for bar results. I know this firsthand since, well, I've applied for about 77 of them! When I got the call about the interview, the assistant asked me a few basic questions, including whether or not I sat for the July bar. When I informed her I did, her response was "great!"

So anyways, I went to my interview this morning, which by the way, was about 40 minutes from my house. The girl I interviewed with was probably a few years younger than me (I'm only 24, so she was young). She was very nice and asked me a couple questions. She said I seemed like a great candidate and she wanted to go talk to the attorney about me. She explained that the attorney had been very busy that morning so she wasn't sure she'd have time to speak with me (um, why schedule me for an interview if I would need to talk to the attorney and she wouldn't be available?). She returned a few minutes later and said the attorney would like to speak with me in her office so she led the way.

Immediately upon introducing myself to the attorney she said "So, I have an obvious question, why are you interviewing for this position if you just took the bar?" I gave my standard, prepared answer and anxiously awaited more questions about my background/skills/experience, etc., but instead all I got was, "Well, I'm a little worried that since you took the bar you won't be around very long." I, again, gave my very well thought-out response. Finally, she said "You obviously are qualified, but we've had lots of interviews and we have a few more scheduled for next week so you'll hear from us soon."

She asked me NOTHING about my experience or my skills...NOTHING. She simply wasn't interested because I took the July bar. And that's all good and dandy (and again, I expected they probably wouldn't hire me because of that) but why in the world did you bring me in for an interview if you had no desire of at least finding out more about me and my qualifications. You knew BEFORE I came in for the interview that I had taken the bar.

Ugh, I was fuming! Again, I totally understood that the chances of me getting this job were slim, but if you are going to have me drive 40 minutes for this interview, at least INTERVIEW me. Don't ask me one question you already know the answer to and then say "thanks, see ya." Altogether I was in that office for no more than 7 minutes. Really, my boyfriend was actually in the car waiting-he timed it. 7 minutes!!!!!!

This one really got to me. I'm not sure why, but this one almost put me over the top. Bar results come out in exactly one week and I've been on edge about that the past few days. I'm sure this interview came at a really bad time, but I just feel very defeated.

I'm contemplating whether or not I should even write a thank you. I always follow-up my interviews with thank you letters. Even the interviews I've hated. But, instead of a thank you I really want to send them a bill for my gas and time that they wasted by having me come interview for a position that I really was never a candidate for.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

During college I worked on campus as a tutor for our school's "homework club." I tutored everyone from elementary school kids - high school kids. I loved tutoring and seemed to be pretty good at it (at least in my opinion, haha). My mom was a teacher and growing up I always loved to "play" teacher. If I wasn't an attorney, I'd definitely be a teacher (and probably have just as hard of a time finding a job!)

A few weeks ago I realized that one job I could do here, without having to go on an interview or be "hired," would be tutoring. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision and I quickly posted an ad on a local tutoring board. About a week later I received an email from a mom looking for a math and english tutor for her 6th grade daughter. To be honest I had kind of forgotten I had posted the ad in the first place so was surprised when someone actually contacted me! We exchanged emails for awhile and set up a weekly schedule for tutoring twice a week for an hour each time at a local library. She warned me that her daughter was very shy so not to worry if she didn't immediately take to me. Monday was our first day and it went really well. I would never have guessed this girl was shy. She was talking up a storm, super friendly and didn't seem to have too much difficulty with the stuff we went over.

However, there were a few interesting things that happened on our first visit. There was another tutor sitting at a table near us that the girl I was tutoring knew. Apparently this girl had been her old tutor, but she told me that tutor "didn't last long." Uh oh.

When our session ended and I met the dad outside he thanked me, said they'd see me in 2 days and left. It took me a few minutes to realize that I didn't get paid! The mom and I never discussed when she would pay me (after each session, at the end of the week, etc.) so I had a hard time being mad, but I was a little frustrated (mainly at myself) that I didn't speak up and say something to the dad.

Later that night I received an email from the mom thanking me and telling me that the little girl really liked me and was looking forward to our next meeting on Wednesday (today). She also asked if I would be able to tutor her high school son one day a week. I agreed, and she explained that he is on the high school football team so his schedule can be sporadic. We had planned on tutoring on Tuesday evenings for the son. She also asked how I would prefer to be paid (daily, weekly, etc.) Well yesterday (Tuesday) she sent me an email in the afternoon canceling his tutoring session because his team is in the play-offs and they were having a late practice. She asked if we could change the session to Thursday-which I happily agreed to.

I just received another email from the mom canceling both the girl's session today and the son's session tomorrow. She said the father was called in to work last minute and no one would be able to get her to the library today. Since tomorrow is a holiday, her son's football practice will interfere with tutoring. She apologized, said she's really not this flaky and scheduled three days for next week.

Here's my problem: I don't know what to think. Do these people just flip flop around tutors so they don't have to pay them? Or, has this just been a bad week? I don't know what to think. I feel bad even insinuating that they could be trying to get out of paying, but I mean we did run into an old tutor who the girl said didn't last long, they didn't pay me after the first session and they canceled the next three sessions. I guess I'll find out next Monday.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Okay, I just had the most awkward interview in the history of interviews. No joke.

A few days ago there was a posting on Craigslist for a legal position. The ad was pretty short but said that a sole practitioner was looking for a legal secretary to help with typing motions, briefs, etc. and for some light research. The ad specified that either a law student or someone with legal experience was preferred and said hours would be flexible with the opportunity for either full or part time hours.

Sounds decent right?

Well, it's not exactly my dream job, but it's a legal position with a flexible schedule. Like most Craigslist ads, I sent off my resume expecting to never hear another word about the job. Well, yesterday afternoon around 3ish I got a call from the attorney's office asking if we could set up an interview. He initially wanted me to meet him right then and there, but I had plans so we scheduled the interview for this morning. Ironically enough, a few hours later I received a message from a different law firm about setting up an interview based off of a Craigslist ad I responded to.

So this morning I got up, dressed up in my suit, typed in the address to my GPS and headed off. I was a little surprised when my GPS took me to a house. Yeah, the lawyer definitely didn't tell me he worked out of his house. It's not really a big deal, but I've never met an attorney who worked from home. He had given me strict instructions to take the stairs near the door down and around to the back (maybe that should have been a clue I was heading to a house?) As I was trudging through gravel and rock in my nice heels I started feeling a little anxious. I was literally in a backyard of a strange house with absolutely no idea where I was going. There were no signs/path/door, etc. I stood in the backyard and just looked around trying to figure out where the hell I was. (I should have just left then!) So I took out my phone and called the office. Instead of a polite "hello" the person on the other line just said "I see you, I'll come get you" Click. Hmm, okay?

A young man came and got me. He shook my hand and was very friendly. He took me into the office and introduced me to the attorney. I later learned this kid just took the bar exam, like me, and was quitting his job with this attorney-hence my interview. I swear the kid gave me a look like "God help you."

The attorney barely made eye contact with me as he muttered hello. The first thing I noticed about his little room that served as an office was the MESS. Literally, files and papers EVERYWHERE. They were scattered all over the two desks in the room, the bookshelves, the FLOOR. I literally had to try and step over papers on the ground. Of course the lawyer said "Don't worry, just step on them if you need to."

The attorney then said to his assistant, "This is the 19th interview, you can't just sit in here and listen anymore, you need to accomplish something today so take this and find somewhere else to work until we're done." Wow, way to be on your best behavior in front of a possible future employee. (This would be the 1st of MANY times I contemplated just walking out.)

The attorney proceeded to just stare at me for about 45 seconds before he said a word. Umm, awkward much? He then talked for 25 minutes about god knows what. Everything from how he used to teach at my law school but was fired to how much he hated the LA courts and judges. He told me about a lawsuit he was personally involved in and how messed up the Judge was and how he almost lost his house because of it. Anytime I would try to add commentary he would put me down and tell me I was wrong (umm, I think I know that I worked in an LA Court, thankyouverymuch-next time read my resume) Seriously, he made a comment about how things worked in an LA court and I replied with "yes" and he jumped down my throat! "How do you know, it's not like you've ever been in an LA court." He told me that when he worked at my school the 1st Dean he worked with was related to the previous Dean and when that Dean retired, his sister took over. So I made a comment about it obviously being a family affair and he stopped dead in his tracks, glared at me and said "I'm just telling you how it was." What?! I was being friendly, trying to engage in the conversation!

It just got worse. At one point he asked if I was familiar with the area in which he lived and I said yes because my boyfriend attends the law school that is a few blocks away. He then proceeded to tell me he doesn't think that law school is very good and no good attorneys can come from it. Umm, okay?

He then said he wanted to test out my typing skills so he dictated a letter to me and had me type it. He then made me print it out so he could read over it. Towards the bottom he read a sentence out loud and said "I don't think I said that, maybe I did, but I don't remember saying that sentence." Okay, dude I totally just made up a random sentence to just stick in the middle of this dumb "test" you are giving me for the hell of it, right?! Then he has the audacity to say, "Yeah, I know I didn't say this, it's your mistake- you are wrong, I never said to type this." I was SOOO surprised. Seriously?! I'm sorry that you are old and obviously have memory issues and don't remember what you said less than 2 minutes ago, but please don't say that I'm wrong and I happened to make up a sentence. Ugh, I was so frustrated and ready to just get up and leave.

At the close of the interview he said he had a few more people to meet but he'd definitely contact me. With that, he immediately turned his back to me and began reading a book. No handshake, no showing me out, nothing. As I was walking out I said "Have a nice afternoon" and he replied with "It's still morning." (I walked out at 11:45-sorry 15 minutes before "noon"). I could not run out of there fast enough.

I will say, in his defense, he was at least in his early 70's so I attribute his behavior to cranky old man syndrome. He definitely lacked social skills. Given the fact that I was interview # 19 or 20 I can safely say he's not happy with anyone or no one will take a job with him. I also looked him up on the Cal Bar website and found that he had a couple disciplinary incidents. The record is private for his particular offenses so I'd have to order a copy, but given what a character he was, I may just do that for the hell of it.

Worst.interview.ever.

Luckily I'm interviewing for the other Craigslist position on Friday. It's a much better position than this was and it's at a pretty large well-known firm.